Recently, it has become possible to collect massive section patterns (section images) in association with high functionality of the medical image imaging device such as the MRI device, the CT device and so forth. In addition, it has become possible to perform generation of 3D data from the section patterns, drawing of a medical image from the 3D data, and image processing on the medical image at a high speed and with high accuracy in association with high functionality of a medical image display device.
When radiographic image interpretation (a diagnosis based on the medical image) using the medical image is to be performed, it is also possible to stereoscopically view a 3D medical image that has been generated from the 3D data by displaying on a volumetric display in order to use morphological knowledge. At that time, there are cases when accompanying information such as annotations such as an ROI (Region of Interest: a space of interest), impressions and so forth, a mouse cursor, a measurement tool, various kinds of character information and so forth that are not included in the section patterns collected from the medical image imaging device is displayed in superimposition on the 3D medical image. It is feared that a stereoscopic effect of the 3D medical image may be lost and visibility of the accompanying information may be reduced unless arrangement of the accompanying information is appropriately performed at that time.
With regard to arrangement of the accompanying information when the 3D medical image is to be stereoscopically displayed, Patent Literature 1 is adapted to superimpose the annotation on the 3D image to display them stereoscopically by specifying a position on a coordinate system of the 3D image with regard to an arrow-shaped annotation that has been added in a 2D section pattern and adding it to a corresponding position on a parallax image for each eye for performing stereoscopic display.
In addition, in Patent Literature 2, a stereoscopically viewing method that the stereoscopic scale is superimposed on a stereoscopic image by displaying scales for the left eye and the right eye according to scale values in the stereoscopic image by including them respectively in the parallax images for the left eye and the right eye is proposed.